


Classified

by midnightcas



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Arguing, Cargument, Domestic, Drabble, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Ficlet, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Jealous Danny "Danno" Williams, M/M, Making Up, No Plot/Plotless, Out of Character, POV Danny "Danno" Williams, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Danny "Danno" Williams, Protective Steve McGarrett, Short & Sweet, Steve McGarrett is a Little Shit, Steve Needs a Hug, Tags Are Hard, mcdanno, there are tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 19:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10950888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightcas/pseuds/midnightcas
Summary: Danny can't help but get a little miffed when Steve lets everyone dig through his old Classified SEAL files except him...





	Classified

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So can you believe that this is actually my first Five-0 fanfiction? Honestly, what took me so long. It's kind of sad. But here it is. I just watched S2E3 where Danny brings up Operation Strawberry Field and Steve gets all flustered, which is, how, I'm assuming this came about.
> 
> It's really fluffy and I just threw it together in about an hour. But nonetheless, I hope you guys like it!

Danny stumbled into the office, coffee in hand. They were elbows deep in a military investigation and everyone was kind of...up in arms about it. They had two murdered SEALs, a kidnapped Senior Officer and no clue where to start. Steve was calling in some backup from some of his buddies in the force. Hopefully they’d be there today with all the files they thought were necessary to sift through. Danny was ready to tuck in and spend all day scanning through old case files looking for anything relevant. There was also kind of a rush. Knowing that he’d get to see some Classified Documents, as well as a little bit of Steve’s background. 

He rounded the corner and froze in his spot. Steve was standing there, arms by his side, relaxed, surrounded by five equally as built men in...what do you know it, khaki pants. Two of the five where Haoles, the others were Native. He watched on with a fond smile. He was laughing with them, full on booms of happiness floating around, a carefree smile set in his face and crinkled eyes. It threw a bunch of feelings at Danny at once. He was overjoyed that Steve was like this. They had been dating for a little over three years now and he always relished the moments Steve smiled. Sure he did it most days with a little sarcastic turn up of his lips, but every time he really smiled, quietly in the early hours of the morning in bed, or when he’d look at him and Grace at the dinner table and just get this goofy too good to be true look on his face, it took Danny’s breath away. He shoved down the slight jealousy at seeing his partner so comfortable around these men in favor of committing this moment to memory.

“Aw, yeah,” he heard Steve say, “And remember when Toggle thought the bear was Martin?”

Danny perked up at that. Steve rarely talked about his days as a SEAL, if ever. So maybe he’d get something out of this after all. There was another round of laughter and Danny inched forward. But Steve, the ever perceptive man that he was, caught sight of him. He turned and offered another breath taking smile.

“Danny,” he motioned for him, “Guys, this is my partner, Danny Williams.”

He rose a hand in greeting before going around and shaking each man’s hand.

“Danny,” Steve’s hand was heavy on his lower back, “This is Officer Kahoni, Officer Lono, Officer Johnson, Officer Paco and Lieutenant Dakota.”

“Pleasure,” he said, “So what do we got?”

“The files are over there. Chin and Kono already started on them. These guys are gonna help while Kahoni is our ear on the inside.”

The men nodded and spread out over to the boxes.

“Remember, if you see anything linking the victims let us know,” Chin reminded gently.

Danny sighed and began over to help. He stopped when he felt a tug at his arm. He swung around.

“What?”  
  
“You’re not reading through files.”  
  
“Like Hell I’m not. We have all hands on deck, what am I supposed to do?”

“You and me are gonna check out the vic’s house. Talk to his wife.”

“Didn’t we already do that?”

Steve looked at him for a second, “We might have missed something.”  
  
“You and me both know that it’s busy work. What gives?”

“Fine, don’t come. But you’re not reading through those files.”  
  
“Why not, Steve?”

The man’s jaw clenched and his eyes jumped away. Danny, however, bore down, eyes narrowing and tongue sliding over his teeth.

“Whatever,” he snapped, grabbing his keys from the desk, “Let’s go.”  
  
Steve followed without another word. It was a quiet car ride.

 

Two days later and they were still no where. Four days and the trail had run cold. It took another dead body--the body of the Senior Officer--to show up for them to be able to trace him. Danny hated that part about the job. Sometimes the only way he can do his job is when it’s too late. One of Steve’s SEAL friends caught the loser on his way to the mainland. Some vendetta for the death of his own son in the service. There had been no connection between the victims, after all. Just guys who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It made Danny sick.

 

He wandered into Steve’s house the next day only to find it piled high with boxes of Classified Documents. He snorted. Noticing his amusement Steve grinned.

“Some guys will be in to pick them up tomorrow. They didn’t want to risk the storm.”

“Ah. Navy SEALs scared of some thunder?”

Steve let out a huff of laughter before taking a sip of his water. Taking advantage of the calm atmosphere, Danny reached for a file and flipped it open. He missed the way his partner’s shoulders stiffened until the folder was being ripped from his hands and tossed aside.

“I said no.”

“No?”  
  
“I told you not to read them.”

“Contrary to popular belief, you’re not my boss.”  
  
“Yes, I am,” he snarled.

“Not here you’re not,” Danny snapped back, crossing his arms, frowning.

And it only made sense. They were partners in the field and partners in life. Sometimes the lines got a little blurred. Danny could take that. But sometimes, like now for example, he couldn’t.

“Whatever, Danny,” Steve’s thick voice came out as he turned away and started towards the bedroom.

But Danny wasn’t done. He had had it with the constant tight lipped “it’s confidential” song and and dance they’ve been playing for years now. He didn’t know why it was now, that he was at the end of his rope, but it was. It may have been the case. It could have been seeing Steve with the other SEALs. Maybe it was the fact that he had piles upon piles of facts and information and stories about Steve in his house and he wasn’t even allowed to look. He knew it was private. And he knew it had to be hard to talk about. But didn’t he trust him? Even a little?

“Why do you always do that? Huh? Why do you always do that?”  
  
“Do what?”  
  
“Get like that. Whenever I ask about the Navy.”

“You didn’t ask about the Navy. You’re reading through confidential files.”

He raised an eyebrow, awaiting a real answer. And maybe he had practice with Gracie, but he was pretty good with the whole petulance thing. And whether Steve liked to admit it or not, the hot head could wait out a sloth.  
  
“Because it’s none of your business,” he amended.

Danny gaped, “None of my business?”

“None of your business.”

“You’re joking,” he scoffed.  
  
“I don’t know why you care so much about it.”

“Because you’re my boyfriend,” he let his hand cup as he threw it out in frustration.  
  
“That doesn’t answer the question.”  
  
“That _ does _ answer the question, actually. I want to know about it because it involves you. Is that so hard to get your thick skull around?”

“I don’t ask about yours and Rachel’s divorce. Or what you did in New Jersey.”  
  
“You’re right you don’t. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t  _ tell _ you.”

“It’s different.”

He sucked in a long breath, “Why? Because it’s classified?”  
  
“Exactly because it’s classified.”

Steve was just making excuses and they both knew it. But the fact that he felt like he had to was only grating Danny’s nerves even further.

“Telling me about the stuff you did for fun while deployed is not classified. I’m not asking you to give me a play by play, just let me in a little, Steve.”

“Why can’t you just let this go?”

“I have. For years now.”  
  
“Maybe I don’t like talking about it.”

“You don’t seem to mind it when you’re with other SEAL friends.”

He knew it came out jealous sounding. But at this point it didn’t matter. He had been asking for years. Asking about his friends he never saw or the calls he always took outside. About stupid things like what they ate or played or did.  
  
“You’re not a SEAL Danny.”

“No duh. Is that supposed to mean something?”

“You don’t know what it’s like.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t tell me anything about it.”

“Can’t you just let this go?”

“No.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Wh-why?” He was seriously asking why? He opened his mouth and decided to let it all come out because if he didn’t this was just going to become a reoccurring issue. And as much as he loved to bicker with Steve, he absolutely hated fighting with him, “Because I’m the one who sleeps next to you every night, Steve. I’m the one who wakes you up from the nightmares when you’re screaming. I’m the one that has to explain to Grace that you had a nightmare without knowing what to tell her as to why. Then  _ I’m the one _ who has to watch you suffer the entire next day because you look like you’ve seen a ghost. You won’t see a therapist. You won’t take time off. You won’t talk to me about it. I can’t help you and it’s driving me  _ fucking  _ crazy, Steve.”

He ended on a plea. He worked to catch his breath, this emotional chase taking more out of him than any physical one. The SEAL ducked his head. Danny watched as his adam’s apple bobbed and he tightened his lips.

“Then maybe...”

And oh no. If Danny wasn’t pissed before, he was now. Bullshit. He rolled his eyes,“Maybe what? Maybe what Steve? You want to break up?”

Yeah. They were it for each other. This was who they had for the rest of their lives. He wasn’t going to let the idiot throw that away...throw  _ them _ away for stupid reasons.

“If..."  
  
“You know what?” He cut him off, not wanting to hear it, “No. You’re doing...this is exactly how I thought this would go.”  
  
“Huh? And how was that?” 

Great. Now he was mad too. But Danny couldn’t pull back. He was on fire. He should take a breath. He should calm down. But he just...he didn’t.  
  
“You. Being the martyr. Pulling that whole too grown up for feelings routine. You always do this. You always cut me out!” He paused and swallowed, knowing the yelling and fighting wasn’t going to get them anywhere. All it ever got was one of them heading to Chin’s house and the other alone in a cold bed. He didn’t want that tonight. He sighed desperately, “I love you Steve. I’m just trying to help. Why won’t you let me help?”

Seeing that his partner had cooled down, Steve followed suit. His shoulders dropped and his eyes closed. 

He let out a long breath, “It’s just...you...I can’t.”  
  
“You can’t what?”  
  
“I can’t lose you.”

Lose him? Danny cocked an eyebrow, gesturing to the living room, still packed with files, “Is what’s in those files dangerous? They’re closed, aren’t they?”  
  
“They are. But that’s not...”  
  
“I just want to know about it. Not all of it. Just...parts.”

“I can’t just tell you one part and not the other.”  
  
“I’m not trying to make you tell me everything. I won’t push if you feel uncomfortable.”  
  
“You’re pushing now.”  
  
“You know what I mean. I don’t want you to relive it or feel shitty, Steve. I just want to help. Let me help you.”  
  
“I can’t because...God Danny. Why can’t you trust me?”

He sighed, because  _ of course _ Steve would attribute it back to him not ‘trusting’ him.

“I do trust you,” he laid out, “Everyday. With my life. With our life. With Grace. Come on. Don’t start pulling that bullshit.”

Finally Steve seemed to...open. Slowly. 

“It’s just...it’s different, Danny. I’m not...I’m not who I was.”

He was being... _ reasonable _ . Voice a low pitch and soft. It was the voice he used when he was tired, withdrawn. Danny hated that voice, but it was working in his favor now. It was better than the yelling.

“Okay, so you’re different. I got it. You changed.”  
  
“No. It’s not like...when you’re out there, things are different. You complained the whole first year that I met you about my etiquette? Well there isn’t any etiquette. The only thing there is survival. For yourself and then your team. And that’s  _ it _ .”

“Yeah. I got that, Steve,” he tried reassuring again.

“No.”

“Babe.”

“You don’t understand, Danny. If I tell you...if I let you look through those files...then you’ll see. You’ll see who I was.”  
  
“You just said you changed.”

“I have but...”  
  
“Then? You let Chin and Kono go through them! And we’re the ones who are together. The ones that are supposed to have each other’s back the most. Trust each other the  _ most _ !”  
  
“Danny! I...” he ground his teeth, too frustrated to find the words, “you can’t see it!” Danny’s eyes widened at the sudden raise in voice. It dropped suddenly, however, when he spoke again, “Don’t you get it? You can’t see what I’ve done. I just...you, above everyone can’t know.”

Danny stood frozen for a moment. Putting together what he had just said and...oh. Oh no. Everything seemed to make sense at once. 

He started speaking before he, himself, could put the words together, “Are you...Steve, are you scared that I’ll...”

The other man made no move to respond. He only averted his eyes and curled his lips in. Danny felt an emptiness in his chest as he reached out and took hold of Steve’s arms, placing himself in his line of vision, trying to ignore the wetness in his eyes as he spoke.

“Listen to me. I love you. With  _ everything  _ I have. There is nothing in this world that can make me love you any less than I do now. You’ve thrown me into walls, gotten me shot, made me cry, you’ve made me hate myself more than anyone. You’ve made me fucking insane. And I’m still here, aren’t I? You haven’t scared me away, yet. I’m still here. And I always will be. You are it for me Steve. I thought you knew that,” he reached up and brushed away a stray tear from his partner’s cheek. They had started falling amidst Danno’s speech, “There is nothing in those files, or anything you could say to me that would make me leave. You could have shot your team yourself, you could have done it on purpose, I don’t care. You said it yourself, you’re a different person. Things were different there. You’re here now. I fell in love with you.”  
  
“Yeah, but not...”  
  
“No. When I fell in love with you, I fell in love with all of you. Your pessimism. Your temper. Your dramatics. The fact that you never share anything. Steve, I am in love with you. Will you listen to me. You understand? Do you understand?”

There was no answer.

“Steve?”  
  
He nodded and licked at his lips, “Yes,” he whispered.  
  
“Good. You could shoot me...point blank...in the head, and I don’t know fucking why, but I would still love you. Okay? If you don’t want to share you don’t have to. But you need to know you can. And I will not judge you. I can’t.”

Steve’s face was crumpled in pain as he looked into Danny’s blue eyes. They were unwavering. Fierce. And they made his heart  _ ache _ . He lowered himself to sit at the edge of the bed and Danny followed, sitting beside him, cradling the man’s head and running his fingers through the dark locks of his hair. Steve’s nose was pressed into the crook of Danny’s neck as his other arm rubbed at the tattooed arm.

“I love you,” Steve mumbled.

“I love you too, you big idiot.”

There was a long silence. Danny watched the sun set out the window, happy and content to just hold the other man in his arms.

“We used to play cards,” Steve said suddenly.

“What?”

“Me. My team. We used to play cards. Around the fire. We bet cigarettes.”  
  
Danny nodded but said nothing. He turned his head slightly to press a lingering kiss to the side of Steve’s head. It had been, in some ways, small, in other ways, though, it had been a massive leap. In their trust, their lives, their  _ relationship _ . He settled them back against the headboard, running his hand down his arm to twine their fingers together in a strong hold. 

After another long moment of silence Danny spoke. He told Steve all about New Jersey. His days as a Rookie, a Detective. He told him stories about the academy. His mistakes, his blunders. He talked until the both of them drifted off to sleep. And maybe Steve really wasn’t ready to share. Maybe he never would be. But Danny would be there for him if he was. 

He knew Steve carried around a lot of demons. He had a past. He had made that clear the moment after they shared their first kiss. Sure he had a past. But he also had a future. 

And unfortunately, that was a case that would always be classified. 

**Author's Note:**

> Questions? Comments? Concerns? Good Samaritan? Leave a Comment?
> 
> Thank you so so much for reading. It's very much appreciated.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr as: themcgarretteffect  
> Requests are now open seeing that it's summer and I plan to lock myself in my room for a few months and just write.
> 
> Much Love xoxo


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